Week 9: Space + Art

Sometimes, the sheer scale of the universe amazes me. It's incredible to think that all our thoughts, all our experiences, literally every single thing that we've ever seen or heard, all took place in a tiny insignificant dot in our galaxy, which in turn is a tiny insignificant dot in the universe. In fact, we can also scale down and see how we are made up of tiny cells in our body, which in turn are made up of molecules and atoms^[1]. Many artists, philosophers and great minds have often looked up at the stars for inspiration. As Plato says, "Astronomy compels the soul to look upward"^[2]. And this leads us to consider philosophical questions like our purpose in the universe, and the amazing possibilities that could exist out there.

A picture of our supercluster in the Universe

Humans are a naturally curious species, and so it only seemed right that space exploration came about. Since the mid twentieth century, humans have been trying to get further and further out into space to explore. So far, the only successful manned missions to a celestial body have been to our own moon, but we don't seem to be far from trying to get a manned mission to Mars^[3]. One of the most interesting concepts currently is SpaceX, a company that's trying to privatize space travel, so any one with sufficient wealth can do it^[4]. SpaceX's future goals include setting up a colony on Mars and making humans an multi-planetary species.

A re-usable SpaceX rocket landing remotely on a barge in the Ocean

Space is one of the most fascinating subjects as it manages to stimulate people from both cultures^[5]. It makes scientists and engineers think of the complicated astrophysics and quantum mechanics needed to explore it, while it makes artists and literary minds consider the philosophy of human life, its purpose,the possibility of extra-terrestrial life, etc. Space has been a prime subject for many novels, movies and plays simply because we don't yet know enough about it to know everything that's out there. It's great to see how rapidly we're building technology capable of taking us further out into the universe, and I'm excited to see what we discover out there.

Concept Art of a futuristic Space shuttle

Resources

[1] Eames Office. "Powers of Ten™ (1977)." YouTube. YouTube, 2010. Web. 29 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0>.

[2] "Space Quotations: Wonder and Magic of Space Quotes." Space Quotations: Wonder and Magic of Space Quotes. Web. 29 May 2016.

[3] Wall, Mike. "A Manned Mission to Mars Is Closer to Reality Than Ever: NASA Chief." Space.com. 18 Sept. 2015. Web. 29 May 2016. <http://www.space.com/30580-nasa-manned-mars-mission-reality.html>.

[4] "About The Company." SpaceX. Web. 29 May 2016. <http://www.spacex.com/about>.

[5] Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge UP, 1959. Print.

Event 3: Masa Jazbec's Robot Demonstration

I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to have witnessed Masa Jazbec, currently a Ph.D candidate at Empowerment Informatics, University of Tsukuba, Japan and an android/humanoid researcher^[1]. Her talk showed me just how far humanoid robot development has come. From early versions, where the difference was very noticeable, we're slowly reaching a junction in time where advanced humanoid robots are becoming indistinguishable from actual human beings. Masa's research and work shows how artists and sculptors have managed to make robots seem like an average person^[2]. It also shows how far the code controlling the robots has come. From simple scripted speeches to advanced Artificial Intelligence algorithms with complex neural nets.

Masa and I after her lecture

Masa's work with professor Hiroshi Ishiguro was particularly interesting as it began testing the boundaries between being human and being a robot. It made me curious about what it means to be human and the intricate complexities of the human body. While professor Ishiguro's robot was not self-aware^[3], the controlling mechanisms were built in a way that essentially made it a surrogate for the professor. The robot was so detailed that the facial features changed depending on the professors, essentially enabling the robot to show emotion^[4].

One of Masa's early projects.

Masa and professor Ishiguro also conducted experiments using the professors wife and daughter to see how compatible the robot would be in social environments. The experiment showed that while adults, like the professor's wife, are more receptive to this technology, children, like the professor's daughter are more apprehensive and can 'feel' that the robot isn't who its claiming to be. This experiment showed just how close we are to truly integrating robot humanoids into our society. Many companies have started experimenting with humanoid robots and are working on creating them. Robots have started entering fields previously considered to be exclusive to humans, such as model-ing^[5].

The world's first robot model.

One thing's for sure, this talk has certainly got me excited about the future of robotics and its application to our daily life.

Resources

[1] "ABOUT." Maša Jazbec. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://www.masajazbec.si/>.
[2] Jazbac, Masa. "Vizualna Alternativa Trbovlje." RTV 4D. 10 June 2014. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://4d.rtvslo.si/arhiv/prispevki-in-izjave-kultura/174279908>.
[3] Building "self-aware" Robots. Dir. Hod Lipson. 2007. Ted Talk. <http://www.ted.com/talks/hod_lipson_builds_self_aware_robots>
[4] Robots That "show Emotion" Dir. David Hanson. 2009. Ted Talk. <http://www.ted.com/talks/david_hanson_robots_that_relate_to_you>
[5] "JAPANESE INTRODUCE ROBOT MODEL - TheFashionSpot." RSS 20. 2009. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://www.thefashionspot.com/fashion-news/20065-japanese-introduce-robot-model/>.

Event 2: Anne Niemetz's Lecture

Feeling lost and confused after my previous event, I never really thought I'd appreciate art as much as some of my peers do. Anne Niemetz's lecture however, was surprisingly inspiring for me. From the very first word till the last, her lecture managed to keep the audience entertained and learning at the same time. The event, held on May 3rd, concentrated on direct application of scientific principles to create wearable art and interactive installations. Unlike most of her colleagues, a lot of Anne's work is not static, and requires demonstration. I was fascinated seeing so many concepts that I had learned in classes being applied in such imaginative ways.

Anne Niemetz and I

One of Anne's pieces that I particularly enjoyed was 'Pyramider', where she used a huge Tesla Coil to create an audiovisual display based on the beats of popular songs^[1]. I loved seeing how different frequencies and rates of current gave different tunes and beats and how this could be used in a creative way. On the other hand, one of her works where I didn't really see any significance was in her 'Starship Pirouette', which seemed like a relatively simple children's costume with a starship loop around simple tights^[2]. I felt like this was a nice costume, but not very imaginative or technically complex.

'Pyramider' in Action

Anne's works showed me that robotics and science have come to the point where rather than just being used in production techniques for art^[3], they are now being used to create live, functioning art. A very direct application was in the work 'Drone Sweet Drone' where Anne used light signals to form a communication pattern between drones. Visually, Anne's pieces are very appealing, while being fascinatingly simple in their technicality. Works like this truly make me believe that we've moved to a third culture^[4], where both art and science are collaboratively forming very interesting pieces.

A still from 'Drone Sweet Drone'

Overall, I understood and appreciated the art at this event much more than my first event. This was truly a mind-opening event.


Resources

[1] "Pyramider at VUW School of Design." Pyramider at VUW School of Design. 10 Aug. 2012. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://www.adime.de/teslacoil/index.html>.
[2] "Starship Pirouette." Starship Pirouette. Web. 2013. 23 May 2016. <http://www.adime.de/starship/makingof.html>.
[3] Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.
[4] Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." Leonardo. 34 (2001): 121-125. Print.
[5] "The World Listening Project." The World Listening Project. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://www.worldlisteningproject.org/tag/anne-niemetz/>.

 

Week 8: Nanotech + Art

 Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. It often helps us in ways we'd never notice such as cleaning up organic chemicals polluting groundwater and generating less pollution during the manufacture of materials.^[1] Nanotech can also be used in more direct applications such as the use of nanotech particles to release chemotherapy drugs directly to cancer cells.^[2] Nanotechnology has a clear use in the world of engineering and science, but is has also been used creatively in the world of art. Multiple modern artists have adopted the concept of nanotechnology as an additional medium of expression.

The concept of nanotechnology shown as a cell in the human body

Artist have also teamed up with scientists and used nanotechnology to help create a lot of different useful applications such as edible nano-wrappers and chemical release packaging.^[3]  However there has also been more abstract work such as the creation of a speaker from bone cells.^[4] This contrast clearly shows how vast the field of nanotechnology can become and how influential it could soon become in our life. Nanotechnology is slowly being favored as a solution to many problems such as pollution control, climate change, etc. The scope for Nanotech in art is also massive as it would allow artists to interact and sculpt works on a molecular level.

The concept of edible nano-wrappers

A speaker made of bone

Nanotechnology is also helping make current products such as microchips, electrical components, fabrics, etc smaller.^[5] This is increasing both the compactness as well as the efficiency of many devices as they have to support a lower load or have more chips per unit cm so they have an overall faster processing speed for the same size chip. Thus, we can see that nanotechnology is used widely in today's world already, but it still has a large scope for expansion. I'm excited to see new developments in this field, and feel that it has the potential to change the way we live.


Resources

[1] Bradley, Paul. "Everyday Applications of Nanotechnology." Everyday Applications of Nanotechnology. Web. 22 May 2016.
[2] "Nanotechnology in Medicine - Nanomedicine." Nanotechnology in Medicine. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://www.understandingnano.com/medicine.html>.

[3] "Nanotech Jim Pt6." YouTube. YouTube, 21 May 2012. Web. 23 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7>.

[4] Anonymous. "Art in the Age of Nanotechnology." Art.Base. 11 Mar. 2010. Web. 22 May 2016. <https://art.base.co/event/2104-art-in-the-age-of-nanotechnology>.

[5] "Making Stuff: Smaller." PBS. PBS, 21 Aug. 2013. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/making-stuff.html#making-stuff-smaller>.

Week 7: Neuroscience + Art

I was introduced to basic Neuroscience for the first time when I took 'Introduction to Psychobiology' at UCLA. It intrigued me to see how all our behaviors, thoughts and actions can be mapped to certain neurons 'firing' in our brains. I explored how all our different emotional states and our imaginative processes can be triggered with different medicinal drugs and how this would lead to a more creative influence in our work. It's a weird irony of sorts, as described by David Deutsch^[1] we use language to try to understand cognitive properties, even though language is a result of cognitive properties.

A map showing different functions mapped to a part of the human brain

Art has often been influenced by applied neuroscience. People have often taken to substances to channel their mental capacities into a more creative sense. LSD^[2], Marijuana, Mushrooms and other illicit substances have always been associated with artistic minds. Many famous personalities and scientists have used these substances such as Sigmund Freud who experimented with Cocaine^[3], and Steve Jobs who experimented with LSD^[3]. In the past, a lot of these substances were unregulated and hence artists could freely use them. However, with the advent of regulation, some artists continue to use these substances to enhance their creative capabilities. The morality of this practice is often questioned, but the art community even though it would not publicly endorse it, seems to be accepting of this practice.

A metaphorical depiction of using drugs to gain creativity.

As humans, we cannot really fathom what constitutes creativity or consciousness^[4] , so even though we can see the electrical impulses that occur while we are using these features, we still do not know why they occur. Therefore, using these substances to trigger these responses is a viable way of reproducing these mental states. But one thing is for sure, some truly wonderful pieces of art can be created when the appropriate scientific substances are used.

What Science + Art can really create

Resources

[1] Deutsch, David. "A New Way to Explain Explanation." Ted.com. July 2009. Web. 16 May 2016. <http://www.ted.com/talks/david_deutsch_a_new_way_to_explain_explanation>

[2] "Girl Draws Self-portraits before and during LSD High (12 Photos)." TheCHIVE RSS. 14 Nov. 2013. Web. 14 May 2016. <http://thechive.com/2013/11/14/girl-draws-self-portraits-before-and-during-lsd-high-12-photos/>. 

[3] Scientist. "14 Famous Scientists and Inventors Who Experimented with Drugs." Famous Scientists. Web. 16 May 2016. <http://www.famousscientists.org/14-famous-scientists-inventors-who-experimented-with-drugs/>

[4] Penrose, Roger. "The Third Culture - Chapter 14." Edge.com. Web. 15 May 2016. <https://www.edge.org/documents/ThirdCulture/v-Ch.14.html>.

[5]  Frazzetto, Giovanni, and Suzanne Anker. "Neuroculture." Nature Reviews Neuroscience Nat Rev Neurosci 10.11 (2009): 815-21. Web. 15 May 2016.

Week 6: BioTech + Art

I've always been conflicted on the use of biotechnology in the medium of art. Any form of production or display that involves living beings can often be an expressway into exploitation. However many artists, such as Paola Anotelli consider the usage of biotech in art to be classical, as Leonardo Da Vinci and several other classical artists used to dissect animals^[1]. I too, agree that in some cases the use of biotech can be harmless and valuable such as the 'Audio Microscope' referred to by professor Vesna^[2]. One thing is for sure, there should be stringent regulation to make sure artists cannot exploit any living beings to make their pieces.

An Audio Microscope

Both artists and scientists alike have been using animals to test concepts and theories. Historically, this has led to multiple instances of gross negligence or exploitations leading to severe deformities and eventually death. As professor Vesna mentions, rats are often the target of these experiments as they closely resemble humans on the evolution tree^[3]. A lot of these experiments can be considered unethical, and even cruel. The most notable being sewing human body parts (such as ears) to rats. A less extreme example was the work of Naveen Thomas, who used pigeons flapping around in an enclosed place to alter the sounds being played^[4]. This could have easily affected the pigeons' homing and navigation abilities.

A pig being tattooed for an art demonstration.

Ultimately, I can see the contribution the biotech world has on art, but I often wish there would be better regulation on the usage of living beings in artistic production pieces. There must be an established standard, and a definitive line set that no one should be able to cross. I understand and appreciate the value of human creativity, but I firmly believe there must be a limit to it. Human creativity should not be an excuse to diminish the living standards of any living being, be it human, animal, bird or microbe.

Victimless Leather—A Prototype of Stitch-less Jacket grown in a Technoscientific “Body”

Resources

[1] Miranda, Carolina A. "Weird Science: Biotechnology as Art Form." ARTnews. 18 Mar. 2013. Web. 09 May 2016.

[2] Vesna, Victoria. "5 Bioart Pt1 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, 2013. Web. 09 May 2016.

[3] Vesna, Victoria. " Bioart Pt3." YouTube. YouTube, 2013. Web. 09 May 2016.

[4] "10 Controversial Works of Art Using Live Animals." Flavorwire 10 Controversial Works of Art Using LiveAnimals Comments. 2012. Web. 09 May 2016.

[5] Davis, Joe. "Audio Microscope: Joe Davis : Genetics and Culture." Audio Microscope: Joe Davis : Genetics and Culture. 2000. Web. 09 May 2016.

[6] Rapko, John. "Aesthetics For Birds: "Animal Abuses in Art" by John Rapko." Aesthetics For Birds: "Animal Abuses in Art" by John Rapko. Web. 09 May 2016.

Midterm: Mood Rooms

GOOGLE DRIVE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-G8PsntCTuUOUlBTDQ2Z3lUTkE/view?usp=sharing

Midterm was submitted on time, but shared late on blogger.

Event 1: Toni Dove's Installations

On April 19th I had the good fortune of attending a lecture by Toni Dove, a New York based Artist who specializes in works with electronic and interactive media. I enjoyed the lecture thoroughly as Toni described how her pieces of art are interactive, and not static like most art. Her method of expression of using gestures to control video playback shows how far the use of technology has come in the art world. From simple pieces of art where artist have to express themselves in a 2D frame, we've come to a time where artists have the most innovative and revolutionary methods to freely express themselves.

 Toni Dove and I after her lecture

The works that struck me most were Spectropia and Lucid Possession. I was initially quite confused as to how I'm supposed to be interpreting these demonstrations, but I realized that my thoughts were too divided into cultural norms as described by C.P Snow^[1]. I began seeing patterns and structures that I couldn't see before and realized the true value of the 'aura' of an artistic piece^[2]. I enjoyed the free way in which Toni controlled her videos and her visualization of the human soul in a third person view.

Toni interactively demonstrating the struggles of the human soul.

What I appreciated most about Toni's pieces is that she does not let funders and donators influence her artistic direction. Most artists today shape their art to the vision of their buyer or funder, but Toni's works are a true expression of who she is as a person and what she observes in the world^[3]. 

However, the one critique I have of Toni's works is that her pieces are often hard to decipher as they seem abstract. While her pieces make perfect sense to her, she should try harder to make them more decipherable as this would help her express herself in a better way.

One of Toni's more abstract pieces.

Overall it was an enjoyable experience as I got to witness the true expression of a passionate and creative person.

SOURCES

[1] Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge UP, 1959. Print.

[2]  Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.

[3] "Toni Dove." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 03 May 2016.

[4] Bohm, D. "On Creativity." JSTOR. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Oct. 2013.

[5] "Spectropia Excerpts." Vimeo. Web. 03 May 2016.